Deborah
Deborah is a feminine given name derived from דבורה D'vorah, a Hebrew word meaning "bee". Deborah was a prophetess in the Old Testament Book of Judges. In the United States, the name was most popular from 1950 to 1970, when it was among the 20 most popular names for girls. It was the 25th most common name for women in the United States in the 1990 census. It has since fallen in popularity.
Meaning & Origin of Deborah
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Deborah is a feminine given name derived from דבורה D'vorah, a Hebrew word meaning "bee". Deborah was a prophetess in the Old Testament Book of Judges. In the United States, the name was most popular from 1950 to 1970, when it was among the 20 most popular names for girls. It was the 25th most common name for women in the United States in the 1990 census. It has since fallen in popularity.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Deborah
Deborah first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 12 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1954, when 54,675 Deborahs were born — ranking #3 that year. As of 2026, Deborah ranks #887 for baby girls with 305 births, gradually falling (-6%). In total, more than 743K Deborahs have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Notable people named Deborah
A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia.
- All pages with titles beginning with Debora
- All pages with titles beginning with Devora
- All pages with titles beginning with Dvora
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Names that sound like Deborah
Phonetically similar names — useful when Deborah is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Deborah
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About the name Deborah
Deborah is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 743K births in the dataset. Deborah's peak popularity came in 1954 when it ranked #2. Use the chart and map above to compare Deborah's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1954 →
- Names of the 1950s →
- Names starting with "D" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.